Microsoft
While indie video game from small-scale developers run to get more attention on platform like Steam or Nintendo Switch , that is n’t for a want of try on on Xbox ’s part . Since 2013 , it has run theID@Xbox programto help fund and highlight games from independent developers all around the world . While some Xbox buff finger uncertain about the political program ’s future because of Microsoft ’s multiplatform pushing , Microsoft reaffirmed its efforts to elate indie game developer at this year’sGame Developers Conferenceby spotlight some of its approaching ID@Xbox claim .
At a hands - off intro held just after GDC , I got a look at several ID@Xbox games coming soon . From more notable games likeStill Wakes the Deepfrom British developer The Chinese Room to pocket-size , cozier titles likeinKONBINI : One Store , Many Storiesfrom Nipponese developer Nagai Industries , these eight ID@Xbox title are games to watch going forward .
Botany Manor (April 9)
Botany Manoris a first - someone mystifier escapade game concentrate around gardening and works . In one puzzler I saw , the player had to maturate imp tear . To do this , they had to find out clues through books and microscope slides . They ’d have to place the plant in a pot , water it , and watch a seedling grow . It ’s a relaxing discount - base puzzle game that will also learn thespian a passel about phytology and horticulture as they apprehend and internalize the game ’s mechanics .
Although Ballon Studios Creative Director Laure De Mey tells Digital Trends she ’s not much of a gardener , she appreciates the lulu of manor house dotted throughout the U.K. and wanted to take in one as a stage setting for this game . title that gamify workaday activities are always somewhat refreshing to play , andBotany Manorfeels like it ’ll be the next plot to do that .
If the premiss interests you , you do n’t have to pay much to essay it out . A free demo is useable forBotany Manoron Steamright now , and it ’ll be a day - one Xbox Game Pass release on April 9 . It ’ll also hit Nintendo Switch on that engagement .
Still Wakes the Deep (June 18)
The Chinese Room is live for its piece of work on repugnance game likeAmnesia : A automobile for Pigsand atmospheric first - someone adventure game likeEverybody ’s Gone the Rapture . Still Wakes the Deepis the culmination of that as a first - person horror game set in the 1970s about a Scottish worker come through supernatural repulsion that have taken over an rock oil swindle on the North Sea . Lead Designer Rob Mclachlan spotlight how The Chinese Room researched what it looked and felt like to work on an oil turnout in the seventies by interview workers , reckon at old photographs and footage , and run low through the archive of oil troupe active at that clip .
He says the elevator pitch forStill Wakes the Deepis “ The Thingon an rock oil rig . ” That ’s certainly an attention - grabbing premise for a young repulsion plot . It seems likeStill Wakes the Deepwill be a must - represent for Eldritch repulsion secret plan fans . For those who get frightened more well , The Chinese Room has also confirmedStill Wakes the Deepwill provide a Story Mode where player are n’t at risk of dying .
Still Wakes the Deeplaunches for PC and Xbox Series X / S on June 18 and will be on Xbox Game Pass Clarence Shepard Day Jr. one .
Go Go Town (2024)
InGo - Go Town , players hit into a rundown city and are named mayor of it . From there , they work to construct the town back up to a spicy tourist destination by building and customizing the look of the town , the shops , and the stave work within it . That may sound trying , butGo - Go Townis a very welcoming biz with a cute art style , an stress on customization , side activity like go - karting , and co - op documentation .
Go Go Townsports a pleasing esthetic , and director Joel Styles credits toys like Duplo for inform the feel , which he says has a “ soft marshmallow sense . ” I roll in the hay I ’d like to play it with others , but I ’ll only be able to do that offline with up to four - musician split - screenland co - op ab initio . on-line play is coming , though . “ Online multiplayer is something that ’s definitely on our roadmap , but that will be a feature of speech we onboard after our first tip of firing , ” Styles says .
That “ first percentage point of release ” is ask sometime in 2024 . This is n’t a biz you ’ll only be capable to play on Xbox;Go - Go Townwill also be released for PC , Nintendo Switch , and PlayStation consoles . There is a free demonstration available on Steam right now .
inKONBINI: One Store, Many Stories (Q1 2025)
Nagai Industries ’ Dima Shen interviewed for a job at his local convenience store but was n’t doing it to get a steady paycheck . Instead , he used it to take reference photos forinKONBINI , his game about managing a night slip at a public toilet store . While he was asked to leave when he got get , the passion he put into this secret plan through doing thing like that is definitely reverberate in what Nagai Industries is now exhibit off .
inKONBINIis a narrative - drive plot in which players work at a Konbini , which is a small Japanese convenience store , in the early nineties . Each night , the participant has to stage the items in the store , making sure everything is well - stocked and facing the right direction . Then , as citizenry come in , they ’ll oppose to the player ’s stocking choices and have choice - driven conversations that can tempt the game ’s narrative . It ’s cozy in the way that working quietly and intensely can sometimes be , makinginKONBINIthe standout secret plan of the presentation .
While Dima Shen probably wo n’t be capable to get a job in a convenience shop anytime soon , that effort seems like it was well worth it as it seems likeinKONBINIwill be an indie pet when it launch in other 2025 for PC , Mac , Nintendo Switch , PS5 , and Xbox Series X / S.
Fallen Tear: The Ascension (2025)
fan of Metroidvanias likePrince of Persia : The Lost Crownand the upcomingTales of Kenzera : ZAUneed to keep an eye onFallen Tear : The Ascensionfrom Philippines developer Winter Crew . It blends RPG and Metroidvania elements to create an intense action platformer in which players hunt monsters with the help of Fated Bonds , who are party member recruited throughout their dangerous undertaking .
One Fated Bond I see during the demonstration was Bjorn the Chef , who hold hot pans at enemies to burn them and passively increase the actor ’s max HP . The beautiful prowess — which Winter Crew founder Stephen Manalastas says was inspired byOri and the Blind Forest — really stands out . Considering thatPrince of Persia : The Lost Crownis still one of my favorites of the twelvemonth , I ’ll be keeping chit on upcoming Metroidvanias likeFallen Tear : The Ascension .
Fallen Tear : The Ascensionis slate for button on all major platform sometime before the end of 2025 .
Brocula (TBA)
agriculture and life sim games have become a breakout writing style because of the achiever of game likeStardew ValleyandAnimal Crossing : New Horizons . To stand out , new games in this genre need some interesting premise or hook to give interest , andBroculahas that . This is a biz about the nominal vampire , who wakes up after centuries of sleep only to find that he ask to gain money to survive in the real worldly concern . Players do this by fill in various part - time jobs and doing some light farming .
During the presentation , solo developer Prateek Jadhwani walked the mechanical press through the game ’s early moment as Brocula was enter to the modern world , took on jobs like knead at the town ’s garage , and hack down some of the gigantism around his castle . During that demo , theASMR - same sound designstood out , which Jadhwani credits to a sound designer help him out with the project . He teases that Brocula ’s vampiric nature will eventually come into play in a part - time priest job where players can ask for blood line or money from the church ’s patrons .
Broculais in active development for PC and Xbox .
Nightscape (TBA)
Another one of my preferent games picture during this ID@Xbox intro isNightscapefrom Mezan Studios , a developer based in Qatar . It ’s a 2.5D adventure game with loose platforming , puzzle - solving , and combat elements where players go on an adventure to restore the maven and constellation in the Nox sky with the assistant of a magical astrolabe . For each configuration that ’s restored , the Astrolabe will gain young power , like being capable to change the direction of the breaking wind .
Although it is n’t as headspring - scratching of a puzzle game asBotony Manornor as acute of an activity game or platformer asFallen Tear , Nightscapelooks like a beautiful plot research a part of Middle Eastern culture we do n’t see often . “ For the astronomical lore , we see at ancient Arabian astronomy exclusively , which is uranology that was roll in the hay to indigenous Araban tribes before the advent of uranology as we know it today , ” Creative Director Hamad K explained . “ We calculate at the gravid Middle East for inspiration for environs , developing the storey , and character designs . ”
Nightscapedoes not yet have a expiration windowpane , and Mezan Studios is just read that it is currently in development for microcomputer and console table .
Jump Ship (TBA)
Jump Shipcould be Xbox ’s answer toHelldivers 2 . For a plot just made by 12 developers work out out of a basement , it ’s an incredibly challenging statute title . It ’s a four - player PvE triggerman where team work together to maintain a ship , fight other spaceships , and share in acute firefights on the Earth’s surface of planets . It ’s detect the middle ground betweenStarfieldandLeft 4 Dead , and that ’s an incredibly enticing estimate for a co - op shooter .
If Swedish game developer Keepsake Games can rend this off , Jump Shiphas the potential drop to be a breakout success . We ’ll see if the indie studio can pull it off , and just how much more musical accompaniment Microsoft plans to give them in the futurity . Jump Shipdoes not yet have a loss window , but when it does come out , it will be through former access on Steam and Xbox Game Preview on Xbox Series X / S.
